Railway track aligning device



Jan. 10, 1939; H. .1. NIJENHUIS 7 2,143,611

RAILWAY TRACK ALIGNING DEVICE Filed March 24, 1957 Patented Jan. 10, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Application March 24, 1937, Serial No. 132,851 In Great Britain April 22, 1936 1 Claim.

This invention relates to railway track aligning devices of the kind comprising a base having rail-engaging means pivoted thereto at or near the front end in addition to a hand-operated lever associated with both the base and with the rail-engaging means in such a manner as to be adapted, when properly handled, to increase the inclination of said means. When such a track aligner is properly shoved in between rail and ballast, which, due to the wedge-shaped front end of the device, can in almost every case be done without any digging at all, said increase of the inclination of the rail-engaging means will result in lateral horizontal movement of the track without any appreciable lift of the same.

Heretofore the hand-operated lever has been pivoted to a slide on the base and also to the rear end of the rail-engaging means.

The present invention has for its object to provide an improved construction of track aligner of the kind referred to, whereby a slide on the base can be dispensed with.

According to the invention, the hand-operated lever is constructed as a bell crank having a relatively short forwardly projecting arm and pivoted to a stationary part of the base, the short arm having a movable connection with the rear end of the rail-engaging means, so that by a proper angular movement of said lever the rear end of the rail-engaging means is raised with an increased downward pressure on the base.

The invention will be described hereinafter by way of example with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic single figure of the drawing, which shows a side elevational view of a preferred embodiment thereof.

In carrying the invention into effect and with reference to the drawing, the improved track aligner comprises a base 3 provided near the front with a lug 4 to which the forward end of the railengaging element 5 is pivoted by means of a pin 6. In its .normal position as shown by full lines, said element rests on an abutment I provided on the base and its straight top edge slopes slightly down towards the front.

The rear end of the rail-engaging element 5 has a longitudinal open slot 8 engaging a pin 9 mounted for rotation in the end of the short arm III of a bell crank lever pivoted as at H to a bracket l2 secured to the base 3. The arm Ill makes an obtuse angle of about 140 with the normally vertical long arm of the bell crank lever, said long arm comprising a relatively short bar I3 projecting into a socket at the lower end of a hand lever I4 of suitable length.

A short distance at the rear of the bracket I2 the base 3 is provided with a handle l5 by which it can easily be carried and which also serves as a foot rest during the aligning operation.

In the operation of the device it will be under- 5 stood that'the base 3 is inserted beneath the rail so that the outer edge of the rail flange is approximately opposite a point located on the top edge of the rail-engaging element 5 at a distance from the pivot pin 6 of say one third or one half 10 of the length of said element. On pulling the hand lever I4 outwardly and downwardly, the pin or roller 9 will move upwards along the arcuate path shown by the dash and dot line 16, thus raising the rear end of the element 5 and thereby exerting lateral thrust on the rail with a minimum lift thereof. Simultaneously, increased downward pressure is exerted on the base 3 serving to obviate any tendency of the base to slip rearwardly away from the rail.

It will be understood that the magnitude of the angle between the arms of the bell crank lever may be modified, but in practice it has been found that with an obtuse angle as shown very satisfactory results are obtained.

The element 5 and also the bracket 12 in the construction shown are composed of a pair of spaced links or plates, which may be suitably braced, but obviously the invention is not limited to this particular construction. For example, the arm ID of the bell crank lever may be forked for engagement with a single rail-engaging link and the other parts of the device may be otherwise formed or constructed in any suitable manner.

In practice it has been found that the horizontal push brought about by a track aligner as described is so great, that the ballast is pushed up at the end of the sleeper and that, consequently, no digging is necessary at said end.

The aligner, whenplaced in the track with the hand lever removed, will not raise up or interfere with brake rods or other passing train equipment. Furthermore, it is of very simple and reliable construction. The movable connection between the rail-engaging element and the short arm of the bell crank lever, which connection is the only more or less sensitive part, cannot get out of working order from dust, dirt, sand or grit, since it is located at a relatively considerable level above the base.

What I claim is:--

In a railway track aligning device of the character described, a base, a bracket secured on said base near the rear end thereof, a bell crank lever toward the front, a longitudinally-extending open-ended slot in the rail engaging element at the rear end thereof, a transverse pin secured to said forwardly projectingarm and engaging said open slot, and an abutment provided on said base at the rear of the bracket in the path of the said relatively long arm, said last-named abutment being adapted to function as a foot rest and to positively stop rearward swinging motion of said long arm before the said transverse pin can 16 become disengaged from said open slot.

HENDRIK JAN NIJENHUIS. 

